France Administrative Divisions
What is the hierarchy of administrative divisions in France?
Here’s a breakdown of the hierarchy:
1. Regions: France is divided into 13 regions.
2. Departments: Regions are subdivided into departments.
3. Arrondissements: Departments are further subdivided into arrondissements.
4. Communes: These are the smallest administrative units, often found within arrondissements.
List of France's administrative divisions with their counts and names
These are the summarized administrative divisions. The full dataset is available in the Download Center.
| iso | country | admin level 1 | admin level 2 | admin level 3 | admin level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR | France | Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes (Region) | 12 Departments | 39 Arrondissements | 4025 Communes |
| FR | France | Bourgogne-Franche-Comte (Region) | 8 Departments | 24 Arrondissements | 3685 Communes |
| FR | France | Brittany (Region) | 4 Departments | 15 Arrondissements | 1202 Communes |
| FR | France | Centre-Val de Loire (Region) | 6 Departments | 20 Arrondissements | 1754 Communes |
| FR | France | Corsica (Metropolitan collectivity with special status) | 2 Departments | 5 Arrondissements | 360 Communes |
| FR | France | Grand Est (Region) | 10 Departments | 38 Arrondissements | 5115 Communes |
| FR | France | Hauts-de-France (Region) | 5 Departments | 26 Arrondissements | 3781 Communes |
| FR | France | Ile-de-France (Region) | 8 Departments | 24 Arrondissements | 1265 Communes |
| FR | France | New Aquitaine (Region) | 12 Departments | 41 Arrondissements | 4293 Communes |
| FR | France | Normandy (Region) | 5 Departments | 17 Arrondissements | 2644 Communes |
| FR | France | Occitania (Region) | 13 Departments | 36 Arrondissements | 4446 Communes |
| FR | France | Pays de la Loire (Region) | 5 Departments | 16 Arrondissements | 1228 Communes |
| FR | France | Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur (Region) | 6 Departments | 18 Arrondissements | 946 Communes |
Why is building an Administrative Divisions Database complex?
The complexity arises from inconsistent global standards, frequent boundary changes, non-uniform naming conventions (e.g., “suburb” in Australia vs. “county” in the US), and variations in administrative levels across countries. Integrating and harmonizing data from multiple sources requires advanced normalization, versioning, and geospatial validation techniques.
How does GeoPostcodes solve the problem for you?
Our standardized database overcomes the complexity of different administrative division
systems worldwide. Our database follows a unified structure that you can integrate
seamlessly into your system or platform of choice without needing to become an expert in
each country’s unique administrative hierarchy.
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